Company partners’ plant and planter system works to enhance air purity, oxygen production
BY JEREMY LOSAW
Modify a houseplant’s genetics to help change the air in our homes for the better.
That’s the formula for Lionel Mora and Patrick Torbey. Through the company they cofounded, Neoplants, the two have created what they say is the first and only plant-microbiome system bioengineered to purify the air in your house.
Their initial product is called Neo Px, a genetically modified pothos plant and planter system. The Marble Queen Pothos has been improved to provide enhanced air purification and oxygen production.
Here’s how it works: The plants are paired with a specifically blended media that is highly effective at removing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from the air. The planter, made from environmentally friendly PLA plastic, is tuned to provide maximum air exchange between the biome of the plant and the room air.
Together, the system is said to have 30 times the air purification power of a normal pothos houseplant.
An enduring conversation
Being in a workplace full of houseplants initiated the idea for Neoplants, which the partners launched in late 2018.
Company CEO Mora had been working in an incubator with Torbey, who has a PhD in genetic engineering. Torbey had the broad idea to create an organism with a function.
Because they were surrounded by plants in the office every day, they started to think they could be a good subject.
“This is an organism that is quite universally loved, and it’s quite iconic,” said Torbey, the company CTO. “Very instinctively, we had this idea that if it could have a positive impact on its environment and the air we breathe, it would be phenomenal.
“We never went back from that from that first conversation.”
But took a lot of work for the concept to yield the performance they were looking for from the plants. Mora and Torbey started working on the problem from two sides: the plant and its biome.
“We wanted to take a holistic approach to the problem, where we want to tackle indoor air pollution, and we wanted to do this with biology,” Mora said. “It doesn’t matter to us if it’s the microbiome, if it’s fungi, or something else. We wanted to take this sort of general approach to maximize our impact.”
The plants and planter plan
They studied different plants and how they are able to metabolize, create oxygen from carbon dioxide, and take compounds out of the air. They experimented with different plants but ultimately landed on the Marble Queen Pothos because it is beautiful, common in the home environment, and generally has ease of care for the average person.
On the other side of the coin, they explored the plant’s microbiome—the media, fungi, bacteria, and organisms that live together—and found there were gains there, too.
A key part of the system is the planter. It was important to maximize air flow to the plant and its biome to promote air exchange to the plant and back to the environment.
Mora designed a custom planter to facilitate airflow and gave it a beautiful form to live seamlessly in the home. Because their mission is environmental, they also decided to make the planter from biodegradable plastic.
The website includes a test to see how your home ranks on the company’s air quality scale.
Manufacturing challenges
Mora has filed patents for worldwide protection for the current product and for the work going on in the lab. While based in France, he solicited U.S.-based intellectual property counsel to help with the filing.
Although it has been useful to show investors that the technology is protected, he admitted the patent is worth nothing without the data to back up the effectiveness of the technology.
The manufacturing for NeoPx was challenging, with the need to produce plants, the growing media and the planter.
Mora wanted to launch the product in the U.S. market first, so he also wanted to keep the manufacturing there. He felt it would be contrary to the overall mission to bring an eco-friendly product to the market—only to have a ton of fuel burned to ship the product from different corners of the world.
The plants are produced in California, the media and microbiome produced in Florida.
It was a challenge to find a suitable molder for the plantar; not many U.S.-based molders have experience working with bioplastics. Fortunately, Mora was able to find a group in the Midwest that was able to do it.
Shipping under way
The Neo Px began shipping in May. Mora is excited to be delivering products to users.
The pre-order marketing work, which also included bringing the product to this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, resulted in a lot of sales. As a result, many devices have to be shipped over the summer.
Mora and the team are busy in the lab, working on innovations that will likely hit the market in 2025.
Details: neoplants.com